1. What is the condition?
Asthma is an ongoing respiratory condition where airways become inflamed, narrowed, and overly sensitive. This leads to symptoms like wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing, particularly at night or early in the morning.
Asthma affects both children and adults. And while medications can control symptoms, they don’t address asthma’s root causes.
2. What are common signs and symptoms?
– Wheezing or whistling sounds when exhaling
– Shortness of breath, especially with exercise
– Chest tightness or pressure
– Frequent coughing, especially at night or in the early morning
– Difficulty sleeping due to breathing issues
– Asthma attacks triggered by allergens, cold air, or infections
3. What is the difference between the conventional view and the functional medicine perspective?
Conventional View:
Asthma is treated as a lung-only condition. It’s managed with inhalers, steroids, and avoiding triggers like allergens, exercise, or cold air. Little attention is given to the underlying inflammation or immune dysfunction.
Functional View:
Asthma is a systemic inflammatory disorder often linked to gut dysfunction, poor or overactive immune response, and metabolic inflammation. Instead of causing asthma, triggers expose the underlying metabolic dysfunction. True and lasting healing comes from calming systemic inflammation, healing the gut, and restoring immune balance.
4. How does the condition stem from metabolic dysfunction?
Metabolic dysfunction leads to insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, promoting overactive immune cells and making the lungs more reactive. At the same time, bacterial imbalances in the gut allow toxins and allergens to cross into blood circulation, stimulating immune overreactions in the body. Additionally, mitochondrial dysfunction reduces the energy available to lung tissue and immune cells, weakening the body’s ability to repair and regulate.
Deficiencies in essential nutrients, like magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3s, impair airway relaxation and immune control.
5. Is there a solution?
Unimate and Balance, two products from Feel Great, work together to reduce the inflammation and immune imbalance driving asthma. As Unimate supports mitochondrial health and reduces oxidative stress, improving energy for cellular repair, Balance improves insulin sensitivity, reduces post-meal inflammation, and supports the gut-immune axis. Together, they can calm the metabolic storm that fuels asthma’s hyperreactive airway response.
Additional Functional Medicine Strategies:
– Heal the gut with fermented foods, prebiotics, and fiber
– Reduce sugar and processed food intake to lower inflammation
– Identify and eliminate food sensitivities, like gluten and dairy
– Supplement key nutrients, like vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3s
– Improve breathing patterns through nasal breathing, meditation, and movement
– Consider stool testing to assess gut imbalances in persistent or severe cases
Asthma is more than a lung issue—it’s a metabolic and immune imbalance that can be reversed by restoring the foundations of health.
I’m Dr. Dieter, and I’m here to help you Reclaim Your Health.